NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* In a new study of 1.3 million Danish women over nine years adds to the evidence that some newer birth-control pills, including the best-seller Yaz, have a higher risk of causing potenally dangerous blood clots. Newer pills containing drospirenone, a suthetic hormone, were linked to a six- fold increase in the risk of venous thromboembolism. That risk was compared with a three-fold increase in women using older contraceptives containing the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel. The study was published online by Britsh Medical Journal. A BMJ editorial added, "It is crucial, however, not to exaggerate the risk, oral contraceptives are remarkably safe and may confer important long-term benefits in relation to cancer and mortality." The FDA is already studying the possible increased risk of blood clots with pills cotaining drospirenone. The FDA says its prelimiary results suggest a 1.5-fold increased risk compared with other hormonal contraceptives, to about 10 women in 10,000 . Studies have differed, though. Some found no increase risk among women taking the newer pills. The FDA has scheduled a joint meeting of two advisory commitees on Dec. 8 to review the risks and benefits.
* Postmenopausal women who take estrogen for years are more likely to experience incontinence than those on the hormone for a shorter time or not at all, a new study finds. Of 167 women surveyed in the early 1990s and again in 2004, those who had taken estrogen for five years or more were three to four times more likely to report bladder control problems in the second survey than women who had not taken estrogen or took it for less than five years. The study is published in the journal Menopause.
* The United Nations estimates the world's population crossed seven billion, reports the AP. The population reached 1 billion, around the 1800's but our population has skyrocketed since. We crossed 6 billion in 1999. The United Nations Population Division anticipates 8 billion people by 2025, 9 billion by 2034 and 10 billion by 2083.
* People with depression are more likely to have a stroke than their mentally healthy peers, and their strokes are more fatal, according to a study in JAMA. Depression is a relatively minor risk factor for stroke compared to hypertension and other health conditions and behaviors that damage blood vessels, the researchers say. Still, their analysis suggest that as many as 4% of the estimated 795,000 strokes occur in the US each year can be attributed to depression.
* A study has found that benzodiazepine, a chemical in many sleeping pills and antianxiety medications, could significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, French monthly magazine Sciences et Avenir reported. According to a 20 year study of 3,777 people aged 65 and over, the drugs could be resposible for up to 54,416 new cases of Alzheimer's disease in France every year, the report says. In France, 32% of people aged over 65 take benzodiazepine, according to a study by the government-run health insurer. The study, which has yet to be published, hasn't been peer-reviewed.
Independent Pharmacy Fax Monitor
November 2011
*Exercising for 15 minutes a day adds three years to a person's life expectancy, according to the frst study to show there's a health benefit from even low levels of physical activity. In a study involving more than 400,000 people, those who exercised for 90 minutes a week were also 14% less likely to have died after eight years than those who were inactive, researchers reported in The Lancet medical journal today. Every extra 15 minutes of exercise reduced the risk by a further 4%.
* Children whose mothers smoked while pregnant were more likely to end up on medications such as antidepressants, stimulants and drugs for addiction, according to a study from Finland that hints at smokings affect on a baby's developing brain. The study appears in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Independent Pharmacy Fax Monitor
August 2011